


Hereafter

by cybox



Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-17 16:17:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13662663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cybox/pseuds/cybox
Summary: Batman comes to term with his feelings following the events of Superman's apparent death. Based off of the JL episode 'Hereafter.'





	1. Batman's side

i.

"For what it’s worth, I don’t think you could’ve taken Batman either."

Bruce remembered the slightest of grins on Superman’s face as he addressed Kalibak’s unconscious body. Bruce himself had almost smiled before remembering that Batman never smiled. 

They shared a strange, intimate moment on the battlefield - Batman met Superman's ever unwavering gaze to find a wistfulness and tenderness in his expression that threatened away his very existence. It terrified him to the core. 

Thankfully, the moment was cut short by Toyman's entrance with his newest robot. It fired an immense green ball of energy at the pair which Superman neatly avoided, carrying Bruce with him as he flew upwards. The flutter Bruce felt in his stomach from the feel of Superman's strong arms supporting his weight was quickly replaced by a grim realization of what Toyman's weapon was capable of - complete and total annihilation. 

The next few moments were spent saving civilians from Toyman's destructive outburst before the villain focused on Superman as he took to the skies. Bruce saw Diana still recovering after her rough bout with Kalibak, and rushed to help her get back on her feet. He hadn’t realized that Toyman had stopped shooting at Superman and had redirected his aim towards him and Diana until he heard Superman cry out. Bruce watched in horror as the superhero flew right into the line of fire. He heard Clark’s agonizing scream as the energy coursed through his body. Then he was gone.

The world seemed to pause then, as if it needed a moment to take in what had just happened.

For Batman, the world did stop.

“Superman go bye-bye!” Toyman said, raising his hands in glee while everyone stared on, speechless. Diana was the first to move, rage fueling her actions as she threatened to punch a hole in his face. Batman, feeling a numbness he had not felt since he had witnessed his parents’ murders, moved mechanically to the area where Superman had just been and picked up all that remained of his friend – a tattered piece of his cape.

ii.

Back at his cave, Batman replayed the footage of Superman’s… disappearance, over and over, a small part of him dying every time he saw Superman fly into the path of the disintegrator beam and vaporize into thin air. All the while, his fingers caressed the tattered piece of his cloak, finding comfort in the motion. His eyes scanned the monitor for clues, anything that could provide him with proof that would remotely hint to him being alive. 

There was something he was missing – there just had to be.

Ironically, it was the lack of evidence that comforted him the most.

iii.

Bruce told Alfred he wasn’t going to the funeral, but he found himself watching all the same from the heights of Metropolis. It was ridiculous, he thought disdainfully at the sight of the Justice League carrying an empty casket to the Superman memorial, to mourn for someone who wasn’t dead. He saw Diana look up at his direction and slipped into the safety of the shadows before she could catch him.

 _Matter can’t be created or destroyed. Just changed from one form to another._ He repeated the phrase to himself over and over like a mantra, finding comfort in the cold and hard truth.

iv.

Bruce walked down the streets of Metropolis, testing his latest theory that Toyman's gun actually created rifts in the time-space continuum and had transported Superman into an interdimensional universe. He scoured the streets, searching for tacchian energy residues in the space around him that would indicate such an event, but his gadget detected nothing out of the ordinary. 

“Another dead end…I’m beginning to wonder if I might be wrong…”

Of course, the energy signature could have dissipated by now, but by now, Bruce was tired of making excuses for himself. He looked up to realize that his legs had led him straight to the Superman memorial.

He squeezed his eyes shut, tears escaping as his heart finally began to accept the reality as truth: Superman was dead. He looked up at the Superman memorial, the smooth black granite embossed with his symbol of hope. “I’ve got some things to say. I should’ve said them while you were still here, but…” He took a deep breath. “Despite our differences, I have nothing but respect for you. I hope you knew…know that.” He cursed inwardly at his slip. “You showed me that justice doesn’t always have to come from the darkness. I…” He stopped, struggling with his words. What was it that he wanted to say? I’ll miss you?

An explosion in the background interrupted his thoughts. He let out a sardonic grin. “What did you always call it, Clark? The never ending battle?”

And he raced off towards the source of the sound, leaving behind the words he really wanted to say unvoiced:

_I love you._


	2. Superman's side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Superman tries to find his way back.

i.

Clark groaned, pushing off the rubble on him with some difficulty.

What happened? His head was feeling groggy as he attempted to recall his most recent events.

There was a battle in Metropolis, he remembered, with all of his major supervillains wreaking havoc on the city. The Justice League was helping take care of the situation while he saved a small island tribe from an erupting volcano halfway round the world. He had arrived in time to punch out Kalibak when Toyman entered with his disintegrator beam, firing haphazardly at the city, then after him before he aimed for Diana and Bruce--

“Bruce!” he called out, looking around wildly for any sign of his friend. “Bruce!”

He was greeted with an odd landscape marked by outcrops on an otherwise flat and dry terrain, splattered with pieces of Metropolis that Toyman had hit with his weapon. Moreover, he was alone, with not another soul in sight.

_What rotten luck_ , he thought with a grimace as he gazed up at the red sun, its light painting the land with a reddish hue. He had been transported to a planet with a red sun and as such, he had no powers.

He tested his comm link to find it still working and opened a channel to the Watchtower.

“Superman to Justice League.”

He could pick up the Watchtower’s homing beacon, but otherwise the line was silent. _I’m not getting audio_ , he realized.

He scanned the bits of Metropolis that had been transported with him - mostly sides of buildings and pieces of the streets - before his eyes landed on a sleek red convertible, looking very much intact.

_Wait for me_ , he thought as a plan formed in his head.

ii.

Clark trekked through sand and snow, driving as far as he could before running out of gas. He swapped his car for a sled dog team he fashioned from taming the wolf-like creatures that lived on that world.

Weeks passed before he arrived at a jungle, nearing the source of the homing beacon. From there he traveled on foot, navigating through the vines and persevering through the heat until he reached a clearing.

“No!” he gasped at the sight of the fallen Watchtower crashed atop the trees and ran towards the doors. Even in its damaged state, the Watchtower recognized his comm link and granted him access.  

He called out, but no one was there to answer.

The Watchtower computer informed him that the entire Justice League’s location, save himself, was unknown. His eyes lingered on Batman’s profile and he pounded the control panel with his fists in frustration.

“What happened to everybody?”

“They died, Superman,” a voice spoke from behind him. “Thousands of years ago.” He turned to see a man emerge from the shadows.

iii.

Clark couldn’t believe it. Here he was, walking side by side with Vandal Savage – a man who tried to take over the world, twice – and going to his house of all places.

He was a bit unnerved by the man’s enthusiasm of seeing him and greeting him like a friend. Being alone for thousands of years changes a person, he mused. 

“Before we go inside, I wanted to show you this,” Savage said as he led him down the run-down streets of a fallen city.

“This is Metropolis,” he realized as he examined the dilapidated buildings.

“Was. I restored it myself. Archaeology is one of my hobbies.”

They stopped at a broken-down monument with the crest of El hanging askew from a slab of black granite.

“Your funeral was lovey,” Savage commented as he regarded the Superman memorial with a certain degree of amusement. “It was on all the networks. I used to have the DVD.” All traces of humor were wiped away as he looked around his surroundings with genuine regret. “I should never have done this. I destroyed the world.”  

“The Justice League would never have allowed that,” Superman said.

“True. They put up quite a fight. Green Lantern was the most difficult.  I killed him, right here,” Vandal remarked as casually as if he were commenting on the weather. “Or was it there?”

Superman let out a succession of punches that knocked Savage to the ground. He grabbed a rock and held it threatening over his head.

“And Batman?” he demanded.

Vandal Savage’s lips twitched in amusement. “Batman?”

“Did you kill Batman too?” he growled, ready to smash his skull.

“No, that was Deadshot.”

Surprise replaced his anger and he lowered his arms. “Deadshot?” He shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t believe that. There’s no way Batman would be killed like…like that.” He was Batman, for crying out loud.   

The corners of Savage’s lips curved up. “He must’ve been caught unaware.”

“Batman doesn’t get caught unaware!”

Again, Vandal Savage’s lips twitched. “Something must have happened for him to get so distracted.”

“What could possibly –”

He stopped. Savage picked himself up neatly, brushing the dust off of his clothing. “Be happy, Superman. Your death moved even the dark crusader.”

“You’re lying,” he spoke automatically.

Savage shrugged and changed the subject: “Are you hungry? Come, I’ll make you lunch.”

 

iv.

Clark laid wide awake on Vandal's couch. He couldn’t sleep, not with the day’s revelations playing over in his head.

Bruce was dead, and it was his fault. The thought killed him and he didn’t know why.

No, he knew exactly why. 

Feeling restless, he got up and wandered around in an attempt to distract himself from his thoughts. He explored Savage's home with a mild interest until he entered one room - discoid in shape with a conical indentation in the center dipping down fifty feet. Even in its partially constructed condition, he recognized the room for what it was: a time machine.

A surge of hope lifted his depressed state and he ran to find Savage. 

_Wait for me_. 

v.

The Justice League was feeling all too acutely the loss of Superman, mostly in the form of the self-proclaimed replacement of Superman that was Lobo. The same thought ran through all their heads: without Superman, could there even be a Justice League? Batman bowed his head, his mind further clouded by regret. _I should have told him when he was still here.._.

He was caught off guard by a muffled explosion in front of him and threw his batarang on instinct at the direction of the sound, hitting Deadshot of all people and knocking him out.

His eyes widened as the smoke cleared out and registered the form of Superman – barely recognizable with his full beard and self-fashioned clothing, but undeniably the man himself. The other members crowded over him, overjoyed at seeing him alive. Batman alone stayed back, afraid to accept he was alive just when he had accepted his death.

“You were greatly missed, my friend. By all of us.” J’onn spoke with a rare smile.

Superman glanced over at Batman who looked very determined not to be a part of the group.

“Don’t let him fool you. Your death hit him as hard as it did any of us,” Diana told him.

“Really.” Clark stared at him, searching for validation in her statement. But Batman had his arms stubbornly crossed across his chest.

“I never believed you were dead in the first place.”  

“I guess that’s sort of a compliment,” he said. He knew it was the most he would get from the Dark Knight, but it wasn’t enough. Not anymore. “I’m just glad I made it back in time.”  


End file.
